If you happen to be an active user of the internet, chances are that you've been exposed to a petition hosted at Change.org. Change.org is a site created to become a hub for petition based change in the world. Users find something special in this site that they lack in their every day lives, a unified voice. Change.org proves that if enough people believe in an idea that idea should hold weight. Through social media it has created an environment where average people can cause big change. Change.org published a list, highlighting the biggest changes made following successful petitions on the site.
#1. Convincing corporations pull funding for organizations with anti-gay discrimination:
Thanks to petitions started and championed by people across the internet, many companies have pulled funding for the Boy Scouts of America, after their exclusionary policies against gay scouts and leaders came out. At this time, all major companies except Verizon have pulled funding, but the pressure is on to convince Verizon as well.
#2. Convincing teen magazines to stop photoshopping models:
Any photographer worth his lens kit knows the value of photoshopping your subjects. With this powerful tool inches can be taken off someones waste, blemishes can be removed, basically imperfections disappear completely. The final product is a Greek adonis unattainable by any of us mortals. A Change.org petition has coerced teen magazines into skipping the photoshop process, presenting impressionable teens with more realistically beautiful role models.
#3. Rental Cars Meet Higher Safety Standards:
In 2004 Cally Houk's two daughters died when their Enterprise rental car caught fire and slammed into a tractor trailer. It later came out that their rental car had been recalled earlier due to a faulty steering system, yet Enterprise had rented it out anyway. They eventually admitted fault, but continued to delay repairs and actively blocked regulations. In order to change this promptly and potentially save more lives, Cally Houk started a Change.org petition that reached critical mass and held the companies to higher safety regulations.
#4. No more "Pink Slime":
For those of you unfamiliar with this "pink slime", it refers to the ground up bits of animals normally slated for dog food production. These ground up bits are used to bulk up beef products for sale and are treated with ammonia. Then it was sent to schools and fed to kids. A mom from Texas decided she didn't like the prospect of her children being exposed to the slime and started a Change.org petition. Almost 260,000 signatures and many hours of media coverage later, schools now have a slime-free option for lunch.
#5. Cell Phone Companies Support Victims of Domestic Violence
Dealing with cell phone companies can be aggravating, especially when trying to cancel an account. This is a problem which faces many who have to leave their homes due to domestic violence. Couples who share a cell phone account can view the records of who is calling who and, more importantly, where they are calling from which can be hazardous in domestic violence cases. A Change.org petition aimed at Verizon has changed the way that companies work in this situation, they now waive the fee (which can be nearly $500) which makes the recovery process for victims much simpler.
See the original article by writer David Mielach published on BusinessNewsDaily.com.